Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2, known as Naruto: Gekitō Ninja Taisen! 2 in Japan and Naruto: Clash of Ninja European Version in Europe, is the second instalment of the Gekitō Ninja Taisen (Clash of Ninja) series.

Contents

Gameplay

Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 offers several different game modes such as Arcade mode, VS mode, and Story mode. You can unlock new features such as new characters, stages, and modes by accomplishing certain tasks in the game. Once accomplished, an item will appear in Anko's shop and the player may buy with money earned from fighting. The roster is also notably more updated from Clash of Ninja, where it is more notably praised.

A large notable series mainstay in this instalment is the feature to not only fight one on one, but now 4-way brawls have been added, with characters being able to switch their targets mid-fight, and enabling multiplayer with up to 4 players on field at the same time. Also new are air throws, where certain character are able to throw their foes in midair, though even these can be escaped from like normal throws on ground.

The game follows the plot of the series, in story mode, starting from Naruto's graduation from the Academy to the end of the Chūnin Exams. There are also several fights which may be purchased from Anko that go into detail about things not fully explained in the series.

Another mode featured is "Oboro (Haze) Mode", where the player enters a normal 4-way brawl but they instead engage with haze clones that progressively re-spawn in increasing numbers as more are defeated, making the goal to defeat as many as possible before being overwhelmed.

Reception

Critical reaction ranges from average ratings to fairly high and respectable ones. G4's X-Play gave Clash of Ninja a three out of five, claiming that while the game has "slick cel-shaded graphics and strong animation," the game's characters are all somewhat similar and lacks in the two-player department. Mark Bozon at IGN gave this game an 8.2 out of ten, and said that the game is quite easy to get involved in, even for those unfamiliar to the Naruto series. He also praises the game for its easy-to-learn combos and character roster.

Trivia

An extra 10,000 coins can be earned if there is a saved file of Naruto: Clash of Ninja on the player's memory card.

There is a limited edition Naruto trading card in every marked box of Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2. It's a hydrofoil Mission featuring Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke with Gamakichi, a slug, and a snake respectively. The card does not come in Player's Choice editions.

The GameCube Clash of Ninja series was ended after Clash of Ninja 2 in America, primarily because of the Nintendo Wii console launching close to Clash of Ninja 2's release date. As such, this is the last game in the American Clash of Ninja to be a translated version of a Japanese game; with the Revolution series that has continued for the three years since, new games have been created for the Wii, featuring characters and stages that were not in the subsequent non-localised GameCube counterparts.

The Third Hokage and the Sound Five from Gekitō Ninja Taisen 3 and 4 currently have yet to make an American Clash of Ninja début.

Later on near the end of 2006 Clash of Ninja 2 was released in a combo pack with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Only 10 characters are able to "teleport": Naruto in his demon fox form (for his down strong attack), Rock Lee in his Eight Gates form (he does so during his Reverse Lotus), Might Guy for his up strong attack, Kakashi (his down strong attack like Naruto's, which for him is the Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique), Orochimaru for his back strong attack (which is a mere Body Flicker Technique) and both Kakashi and Sasuke in their Sharingan modes (for Kakashi, his down strong attack is the same as normal, with the back strong attack being the famous copying technique; Sasuke in normal form can teleport with a heel drop with back strong, while up strong and running strong in Sharingan is similar). Iruka and Mizuki can also employ the Body Flicker Technique for their down and back strong attacks, as well as for several of their combos; Sakura also has the same concept as well. Shikamaru can teleport into different combos off of his back strong, which is his famous "thinking stance".

Lee by the time before Gekitō Ninja Taisen 3 was the only character to have a down special.

Sakura, Iruka and Mizuki are also the only characters with an automatic Body Replacement Technique for their back strong attack upon counter activation, and also ones that cost no chakra.

Also regarding Kakashi, his back strong in his Sharingan mode in the whole Gekitō Ninja Taisen/Clash of Ninja series can have two functions as a counter: the first is being able to teleport away should any type of attack connect on his stance, the second is that should a special attack hit him instead, he can counter with a copied version of it, though some techniques like Haku's (and later Bando's) cannot be copied via this method. The "copying" function of that attack was scrapped in the Naruto: Shippūden sub series for both Kakashi and ANBU Kakashi.